Potentially vulnerable people should not give work to passing tradesmen, Trading Standards has warned.

They received a report from a care agency that a trader attempted to con one of their clients recently.

The client received a knock at the door on Monday from a man in a white van who said he was passing by and falsely claimed to have noticed the house needed some plastic caps replacing on the gable, before offering to do the repair for a 'reduced price'.

A carer was on hand to turn the man away, but IW Council fair trading officer, Sally Ash, has warned that traders will identify potentially vulnerable residents and attempt to con them out of money for work that doesn’t need doing or for a bad job.

She said: “We would like to remind residents again: never engage with an uninvited caller either on the phone or at the door.

"If you think you need work done to your property, do some research and find a tradesman that can be trusted, either using the Trader Approval Scheme or through word of mouth."